dcguy73
Formerly known as dc_guy
I recently received an updated version of the Eastern Electric Minimax from Bill at Morningstar Audio. I had sent my player to him for an unrelated resistor swap, and as a bonus, he installed 2 new teflon caps in the machine -- the same ones that will be in the new batch of Minimaxes shipping this month. (Bill is a really great guy to deal with, as audio dealers go.)
Bill warned me that the caps would take forever to burn in -- so I have left my player on repeat for the past 8 days -- and I think I've almost reached the recommended 200 hours for burn-in. (I think the tubes are warmed up by now, don't you?
)
All I can say is -- wow.
I'm listening to Morphine right now, and I feel like I'm right in front of Mark Sandman. Vocals have a velvet sheen and are crisp at the same time. They are right up front. I can really feel each drum beat. The player has an forward sound but is not aggressive. Some of that warm tube bloom is present. Music feels very expansive.
I have the player plugged into a Foundation Research LC1 that goes directly to the wall. There seems to be a good synergry there. The background is silent and very black. I have not tried any isolation tweaks -- in fact, the player is sitting inside my file cabinet (I have an open cubicle and have to lock up the player to avoid it being stolen). So there may be some vibration/isolation issues, but the player still sounds fantastic!
I'm listening to the Minimax through my Audio Technica W1000s, which are not my favorite headphone (not very comfy), but there does seem to be some synergy here as well.
I'm not very experienced at describing audio quality -- I'm not sure how to describe the soundstage. But I wanted to let you all know that the new caps make a huge improvement in the Minimax sound.
Bill warned me that the caps would take forever to burn in -- so I have left my player on repeat for the past 8 days -- and I think I've almost reached the recommended 200 hours for burn-in. (I think the tubes are warmed up by now, don't you?
All I can say is -- wow.
I have the player plugged into a Foundation Research LC1 that goes directly to the wall. There seems to be a good synergry there. The background is silent and very black. I have not tried any isolation tweaks -- in fact, the player is sitting inside my file cabinet (I have an open cubicle and have to lock up the player to avoid it being stolen). So there may be some vibration/isolation issues, but the player still sounds fantastic!
I'm listening to the Minimax through my Audio Technica W1000s, which are not my favorite headphone (not very comfy), but there does seem to be some synergy here as well.
I'm not very experienced at describing audio quality -- I'm not sure how to describe the soundstage. But I wanted to let you all know that the new caps make a huge improvement in the Minimax sound.
